


Frenemy Mine (2016)

by JennyB



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Comedy of Errors, Community: 7thnight_smut, Frenemies, M/M, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Science Fiction, Survival Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-22 13:45:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8287814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB
Summary: Under a directive from The Big Three, everyone who works for Theta Six, ISDI-Prime's elite law enforcement division, is required to undergo wilderness survival training - even Shawn Graeham, who has managed to avoid it for years. After being given an ultimatum he can't refuse, Shawn is forced to work with his new partner, Gary Stye, and winds up learning a few things about survival, teamwork, and himself.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Late4f8](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Late4f8/gifts).



> This was written for the 2016 7th Night Smut challenge, a Saiyuki-themed writing community on Dreamwidth.
> 
> My requester gave me a very generous prompt of 'vacation gone wrong' with a variety of scenarios. I didn't give them exactly what they asked for, but I think I kept the spirit of the prompt alive in how I presented it. I liked the suggestions of 'in a group and get separated' and 'off-planet space safari' and 'sci-fi elements', and my twisted brain came up with this. Enjoy!! ^_^

"This is complete bullshit!" he snarled, his violet eyes sparking with barely restrained fury as they glared at the raven-haired beauty on the business-side of the large mahogany desk. "You're seriously making me go on this ridiculous team building retreat?"

Karen Boswell, the Chief Human Resources Officer for ISDI-Prime - the Interplanetary Security and Defence Initiative - gave the irate blond a winsome smile and nodded. "The Big Three have decided that everyone who works for Theta Six needs this course as a part of their training matrix. And it's not 'team building'. Think of it more as 'personal development'."

He snorted in disgust. "Tch. You know as well as I do that we're primarily desk jockeys. They seriously think I would benefit from a three day wilderness survival course? Why? In case I get lost in some suburban shithole? I can count on one hand the number of trees I've seen in the megacities in the past six months." Shawn Graeham shifted his gaze to the desktop, disdainfully eyeing the glossy brochure in front of him. The cover showed a woman dressed in military style camping gear and a ball cap, sitting inside a rustic lean-to, and grinning widely. At the bottom was printed _Gamma Epsilon Survival Training - Be Prepared. Stay Safe. **SURVIVE**!!_ He picked up the pamphlet and thumbed through it, reading a few choice highlights about the program. "This isn't some wannabe's makeshift militia. This is the real deal…Tents are provided, but Survivalists are encouraged to sleep in their own crafted shelters…Meals and snacks are provided, but Survivalists can go 'hard core' for a more authentic experience…" He scoffed with no small amount of contempt. "Survivalist? Please. Real world my ass! This is a fucking joke, and you know it."

Karen laughed delightedly. "Only _you_ see the job that way because you make it that way. And don't be so negative. Give it a chance; it might be fun! Besides…" She took the pamphlet from him and held it up, pointing a well-manicured fingertip at the printed words as she quoted, " _There is nothing like mastering skills that could mean the difference between life and death to bring out the winner in **you**._ Sounds exciting!"

"Sounds like hell." He narrowed his gaze. "With the amount of capital ISDI has, we can't have our own training centre? We have to contract this shit out to a bunch of gung-ho rednecks?" His eyes narrowed further. "And what happened to me being grandfathered in? You're the head of HR, for fuck's sake-"

"And your Auntie," Karen interrupted.

He sneered and rolled his eyes. "That, too. All the more reason why you should be able to do _something_."

"Aww, that's cute," Karen cooed. "Technically, I suppose I _could_ make a notation on your file or something, fudge the facts as it were." Her smile widened and sharpened when she saw his face light up in interest. "Truth is, I just don't want to. I think this will be a good life experience for you. You've been cooped up in your office for so long, I worry that some of your skills might be getting a little bit…soft."

"Soft?" Shawn exploded. "My range scores are impeccable. And at my last skills assessment, I-"

"Oh relax," Karen said as she held up a hand and cut him off mid-rant. "I know you're still good. I just wonder if you're still the best."

"I _am_ the best. Period."

Karen grinned. She did love to rile her nephew up, and it was always so easy to get under his skin. "Be that as it may, I also think you could do with some social interaction. A bit of outside time would do wonders for your disposition, Shawn."

Shawn snorted angrily. "You sound like that asshole Hank."

Karen's smile faded to a simple upturn of lips. "Hank's not wrong, you know," she said as she thought about the green eyed brunet. "You keep refusing, but I really do think that the two of you would work well together. He's very good at his job, and his skills are definitely on par with yours. Meticulous. Organized. Intelligent. Plus, he's got that eye candy vibe working for him. I think the two of you would get along like a house on fire."

"Like hell; more like gasoline and fire. He's anal and fussy, and I'm pretty sure he's fucking insane. Put us together, and someone's going to wind up dead."

Karen laughed. "Ah, but think of all the fun you'd have in the meantime!" When he continued to glower waspishly at her, she sighed. "Shawn, you know I love you no matter what, and I do what I can to look out for you, but I also have this organization to consider. And, you do have a tendency to be a bit…churlish."

"Fuck you."

"See? There's my little ray of sunshine."

"I'm not going."

"No? Okay, fine. Then I'm going to need your badge, licence, weapon, and Personal Containment Device." Karen held out her hand, a sad smile on her face. "It's too bad; like you said, you were one of the best."

Shawn's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Not 'one of'. I'm _the_ best Specialist. And what do you mean _were_?" he asked.

"Like I've been trying to tell you, if you don't attend this course _and_ pass, you won't be a Specialist anymore. The Powers That Be have decreed that anyone who isn't current with his training isn't allowed to work for Theta Six in Recovery and Conversion."

"What about Glenn?"

Karen chuckled. "Glenn? Ah yes. You've said it yourself, Glenn's just a trained monkey; the hired help. You know as well as I do that he doesn't go out for field work. Not officially, anyway. Besides, he's not twenty-one yet, so the rule doesn't apply to him. Too bad; when he saw the pamphlet, he was practically begging me to let him go." The wicked grin returned. "You could always be Glenn's assistant? Or maybe we could fast-track him and he could take your spot, hmm?"

Shawn gritted his teeth. "That's fucking blackmail, you old hag."

Karen smiled sweetly. "Yes, Darling. It is." She winked a dark eye, and then said with a giggle, "It's only for three days. I've taken the liberty of having the necessary documents sent to your terminal, and you'll find a bag packed and waiting in your office. Your Jump Ship leaves at five, prompt. Don't be late. And do your best; I'll be waiting with baited breath to hear _all_ about it. We can go for cocktails and tapas when you get home."

"I hate you."

"Charmer." She blew him a kiss as he stepped through the sliding door. "Oh, just one more thing, Sweetness." When he turned slightly and arched an expectant brow, she flashed a smile. "Gary's going with you."

Shawn's eyes widened in horror. "Gary? No! No fucking way!"

"Way. Did I forget to mench? So sorry." Karen looked anything but apologetic. "He's going to be your new partner when you get home, so you two play nice. Ta!"

Before Shawn could reply, the door slid shut in his face, and there was an audible click as he was locked out. From the other side, he could hear Karen's amused laughter. " _Goddamn it!_ "

* * *

It was two minutes to five, and Shawn was securely buckled into his harness on board the _Nero_ , the five hundred-passenger Jump Ship that would take him to Rymia, a small planet known for its verdant landscapes, rolling hills and temperate climates. The planet was home to several exotic types of flora and fauna, although ISDI scientists had successfully introduced many familiar species common to Earth and there was a large research centre on the main continent dedicated to studying the new species produced from crossbreeding. But more than that, Rymia boasted many well-appointed resorts, popular with outdoor enthusiasts, wanna-be hippies, and people looking to 'get away from it all' without giving up their techno-world. All of the resorts on Rymia (including the 'training compound' that IDSI contracted for specialized training) had secure perimeters and environmental regulators which ensured visitors would enjoy their experiences in a safe, controlled, risk-free setting.

Shawn scoffed; he'd think the whole idea was almost laughable if it didn't disgust him. He didn't see the benefit of going through the motions of 'survival training' when there was almost zero probability of anything going wrong. In his mind, there was nothing practical he would learn that he couldn't glean from a textbook on the subject. He glanced around him and made a face as he noted all the douchebags that would be sardined on the ship with him for the next three hours. They were kitted out in brand-name high fashion outdoor wear and banging on about how much they loved the outdoors. He figured that would change when they realized that out in the wilderness - even the bullshit artificial one they were headed to - there would be no Starbucks for them to get their grande, quad, non-fat, one-pump, no-whip caramel macchiato. Roughing it, indeed! He snorted in contempt as he downed his third, and final, complimentary shot of whiskey. Licking his lips, he was glad he'd had the foresight to squirrel away a six-pack in his carry-on bag. He hated flying as it was, and the Jump Ships were even worse. The sub-light speeds necessary for interplanetary travel always left him feeling disoriented and anxious, and he felt that the ships themselves were rattletraps run by assholes more concerned with maximizing passenger throughput than they were with airworthiness. As the flight crew made their final preparations, he spared a glance at the still empty seat next to him. The corners of his mouth curved up just a fraction. It looked like Gary wasn't going to make it - though he supposed his telling the idiot that the ship left at seven _might_ have had something to do with that. His smirk widening, he settled back in his seat and tried to get comfortable. The whole idea of _survival camp_ still pissed him off, but not having a partner at the retreat and the prospect of no seatmate for the next three hours made it seem a bit more palatable.

"Shit, wait!"

Just as the main doors were starting to swing shut, an arm was thrust through the opening, tripping the motion sensor. A few moments later, a tall, leggy redhead, with eyes to match, stepped through the doorway. He flashed a sheepish, yet flirty, grin at the woman at the front as he ran a hand back through his long hair, pushing it back from his face. "Sorry. I hate being 'that guy', but thanks for waiting." He dropped a wink, his grin widening when she giggled and blushed coyly, and he reached out a hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It's all right. It happens more than you think," she replied, tipping her chin down demurely. "But we really do need to depart, so if you could just take your seat, Sir?"

"Sure thing, Beautiful." Gary Stye made his way down the aisle, his grin widening when he saw Shawn. "Hey!" he greeted. When he got a non-committal grunt in response, he rolled his eyes and moved to take the spot next to the blond. He was stopped by a hand to his chest.

"Seat's taken," Shawn muttered before Gary could say anything.

Gary arched a brow in curiosity. "By who?" he asked. "I'm the last one here."

"By my bag. Find another spot."

"Screw you," Gary replied. "There _are_ no other spots; ship's full. Heh, I pissed some broad off who was on the wait list. Another thirty seconds, and you'd have had that old cougar beside you, sniffing around, instead of yours truly. Now move your shit."

"I told you, seat's taken. Fuck off."

"But-"

"Sir, you have to move your bag," the flight attendant interjected crossly as she came up the aisle. "We want to get underway, and we can't until all the passengers _and their luggage_ are secured."

"Tch." Almost petulantly, Shawn grabbed his bag and put it on the floor in front of him, giving a murderous glare to Gary when the redhead grinned smugly and dropped into the seat. "Fucking cockroach."

Ignoring Shawn, Gary buckled himself in, and then proceeded to crack his knuckles before he exhaled contentedly and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Ahh. I made it," he said.

"I'm very happy for you," Shawn said dourly.

Shawn's smile faded to an annoyed smirk. "No thanks to you, I might add. You told me the wrong time, you dick. Good thing I ran into Karen this afternoon, and she confirmed it for me. What the hell are you trying to prove, man?"

_Fucking meddling hag._ Shawn's scowl deepened. "If you're blaming me for almost missing the ship, you can fuck off right now. I'm not your goddamned babysitter. I saw 1700, and must have read it as seven. You're the moron who didn't read his ticket."

"Yeah, well-" Gary's mouth worked silently for a moment, and then he shook his head. "Okay, point. I guess. But you don't have to be an asshole about it now. I talked to Hank, and he said it's a good time."

Shawn snorted. "Hank thinks paperwork is a good time. What the fuck would he know?"

Ignoring his seatmate, Gary pressed on. "There's a welcome party - a luau with a pig roast and open bar. And, after we finish the survival exercise, there's this huge congratulatory celebration that night." He waggled his eyebrows and said lewdly, "If it's open bar, maybe I can get you loosened up enough to where you'll let me do more than just feel you up for a couple seconds like at the Christmas party, eh?"

Shawn felt his cheeks heat, and he hissed lowly, "I told you never to mention that again. As far as I'm concerned, it _never happened_ ; you're just a pervert who's lucky I didn't beat his ass."

Gary's smirk widened. "Sure, Shawn. 'Cause you _totally_ weren't into it," he leered. He'd heard the wanton gasp when he'd grabbed Shawn's ass, and even though it had only been for a second or two, when Shawn had pressed his body up against his, Gary was sure he'd been hard.

"Keep talking, fucker, and I'm going to kill you."

"Yeah? With what?"

A malicious smile curved up the corners of Shawn's lips. "Want me to show you?" he asked as he clenched his hand into a fist, the various tendons and ligaments popping as he squeezed it tighter.

Gary's eyes widened, and he went silent. At least for ten minutes or so.

By the time they landed, Shawn had mixed thoughts about the flight there. It had still sucked, and Gary had more or less talked his ear off with inane musings and idiotic conversation, but he had to admit that it had taken his mind off of being in the flying tin can and had made the time pass. More than that, he'd been grudgingly impressed with the way Gary had flirted his way to free drinks for both of them. _That_ had definitely made the flight more bearable. Still, as he'd watched Gary chat up the flight attendant, he'd felt this sickening churning in his stomach which he insisted was nausea brought on by the flight and exacerbated by the perverse display. After all, it wasn't like he cared what Gary did; he'd barely seen him since the new year. Then again, Shawn hadn't exactly gone looking for him, either.

After leaving the terminal, the passengers broke up into smaller groups to head to the various resorts. Shawn and Gary, along with about thirty others, boarded a sleek hydrofoil which would ferry them across the bay to the tip of the peninsula where the training centre was located. It was a quick ten minute ride, and as they disembarked at the main entrance, a stern looking woman in a crisp business suit checked them all in, then directed them along a corridor where fresh-faced young men and women greeted them, handed each candidate an information packet and a goodie bag of welcome products, and then proceeded to place a garland of orchids, freesia, and a native magenta coloured flower that smelled like dark chocolate around their necks. Gary snickered as he pulled a crumpled carton of cigarettes out of his carry-on bag and lit one up. "Looks like you finally got 'lei'd', eh?" he teased, chuckling harder when he heard the warning growl. "It's okay; this was my first time, too," he continued, and then, to avoid a repeat of the Jump Ship, he fished around in his information packet for his room key. "Hey, what room are you in? I'm 282."

Shawn let his own cigarette dangle from the corner of his mouth as he shrugged, and then flipped open his folder. "Thankfully, not yours, Asshole," he replied with a smirk, and stepped into the lift. He hit the _Door Close_ button, and as the glass panels slid shut, Shawn's smirk widened and he waved tauntingly to Gary, who was left standing on the other side.

As soon as he got over his shock at both the non-answer and being left behind, Gary offered Shawn the finger in response.

* * *

Midmorning on the second day, Shawn stood with the rest of the group at the edge of the woods, waiting to receive their assignments for the overnight field exercise. They'd spent the entire day previous in the classroom with Sergeant Major Savage, the Chief Instructor. The name was ironically appropriate, and Shawn had wondered from the get-go if it was, indeed, the man's real name. Savage definitely had the attitude for the job. His entire bearing reeked of military, and between the wild ginger hair and the eye patch, it was obvious Savage had seen a few things in his life. And had probably slipped a cog or two in the process; he was incredibly overzealous about the material, and had reminded the class at least a dozen times over the past day that the skills he was teaching them could mean the difference between life and death _out there_. Shawn had his doubts as to how many 'skills' he'd be using during the field exercise; worst case, he knew his tour of duty would be less than thirty-six hours, and he was pretty confident that he wouldn't starve to death in that time - especially considering they were being given food and shelter. He was just glad that this training was a one-time deal; he'd seriously be reconsidering his career options if he had to requalify every year or two! As it was, as soon as he was safely back to civilization, he planned to completely purge the whole experience from his brain with some help from the Messieurs Daniels, Wiser and Walker.

Presently, Savage was pacing back and forth in front of them, giving them one of his now-infamous 'motivational speeches'. "Alright, listen up," he growled around the cigarette that dangled from his mouth. "This is it. The moment you've been training for. Once you step out on that path, I'm not gonna be there to bail your sorry asses out. It's gonna be just you, and your partner, and your instincts. You're going to have to work as a symbiotic team, think on your feet, and engage in some hard core decision making in less than ideal conditions. I won't lie to you, it ain't gonna be easy. But just remember, tough times don't last. Tough teams do. And tomorrow, when you walk out of those woods with your heads held high, you won't be participants. You won't be _trainees_. You'll be _survivalists_!"

Shawn barely managed to hold back his snort of contempt. Wherever Gamma Epsilon had picked this guy up, he was definitely the poster child for their corporate mission statement - and probably the guy they'd sent along to meet with ISDI. He yawned widely as Savage prompted them all to let out their best battle cries, and Shawn wondered just how much of his own bullshit Savage actually believed.

"What kind of pussy shit is this?" Savage demanded, rallying his troops once again to dig deep and call forth the beast within. The group quieted down, and this time, Savage looked inordinately pleased. "All right. This group doesn't seem to be _completely_ pathetic. I think you're gonna do just fine. Now, I want you to pair off, and we'll rock and roll."

Gary grinned and approached Shawn, gesturing between the two of them, as if to ask, _You and me?_ but when the blond merely stuck his pinky finger in his left ear and looked around as if bored, Gary pursed his lips together and huffed under his breath. A couple of moments later, Gary felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, and when he turned around, the grin returned and widened exponentially. "Hey, Yolanda!" he drawled as he gave her a deliberately lewd ogle.

"Hey, Gary," she replied, offering a coy grin and a giggle. "Wanna partner up?"

When Shawn heard the girl's name, he dropped his hand, his posture stiffening. Yolanda St.Croix was a young, buxom beauty with crimson lips and long aubergine locks that she kept up in two high pigtails. Gary had introduced her to him the previous night at the luau, telling him that her brother and his brother were best friends. Shawn hadn't really cared who she was, and he'd brooded silently at one corner of the table and drank while Gary had flirted with the girl all night and chatted up the other members of their group. It had pissed him off to watch Gary, the Social Butterfly, in action, and after callously reminding the redhead that he wasn't going to get anywhere by screwing the entire class, he'd stormed off in a huff. A sneer curled his upper lip as he watched Yolanda put a hand on Gary's arm and flip one of her pigtails over her shoulder, and before Gary could answer, he'd rounded on the girl. "Like fuck he does. He's _my_ partner, and if I'm going to have to be stuck with his stupid ass for who knows how long, I want to assess him here and see what kind of an idiot he is."

"What?" Yolanda asked, obviously confused.

"Hey!" Gary exclaimed, somewhat insulted.

"Just shut the hell up and get over here, dumbass."

"All right, Graeham!" Savage praised as he made a notation on his clipboard. "That's the kind of no-bullshit, take charge actions we want to see! So, you and Stye." The ginger smirked darkly. "I've heard about your exploits with Theta Six, Captain. You up for the real challenge of doing it _hard core_?"

"No," Shawn replied almost immediately.

Savage's smirk widened. "You sure? I bet you could do it. I think you'd prob'ly like it, even. Test your limits."

"Don't think, Sergeant Major. It's not your forté," Shawn snarked. "Like I said, we'll pass."

Savage's whole demeanour shifted and he just glared at Shawn for a moment before he nodded. "Noted… _Sir_." As he walked away, he added under his breath, "Asshole."

Once everyone was paired up, Savage got everyone's attention and called the group back to order. "Okay, everyone's partnered up, and I've got your assignments. To help me with the evaluations, I'd like to introduce you to the Chief Field Specialist, Lord Quaestor Yark. He grew up on Rymia, and knows everything there is to know about surviving here." He raised a hand and made a beckoning gesture, and he was joined in short order by a tall humanoid dressed in black tactical gear, with long silver hair, gleaming white skin, pointed ears, and red eyes.

Yark gave the group a distinguished tilt of his head in greeting as he put his right fist to his left breast in a form of salute. "I am pleased to be here. Though, I am disappointed to learn that no one is willing to challenge themselves with the more difficult taskings." He tsked somewhat haughtily, and then added, "While you are out there, Sergeant Major Savage and I will be observing your progress, both on the ground, and via NavCam, which Gamma Epsilon has had installed in strategic locations around the area. Remember your training, and should you find yourself in a dire situation, each group has been given a red signal flare and a green smoke flare - one for dark and one for day. Fire those, and we will come extract you."

Savage held up a thick stack of envelopes. "Last chance - any takers for hard core? Anyone?" When there was no response, Savage cursed under his breath. "All right. Come get 'em."

As the group started moving forward to collect the envelopes that held maps, the locations of their campsites, and the list of tasks they would need to accomplish during the field exercise in order to pass, Gary couldn't stop watching Yark. He'd been with the department a little over six months, and while he'd read about several alien cultures and seen photographs, he'd never actually seen one in the flesh, and certainly not one as unique!

On reaching the front of the line, Yark gave Gary a curious look. "Do you have a problem with me, Candidate?"

"Wha'? No, no it's not that. It's just…" He smiled somewhat sheepishly and ran a hand back through his hair. "I've just never seen a lizard man before."

Next to Gary, Shawn mentally facepalmed. Yark looked shocked for a moment before his eyes narrowed, the yellow slitted irises becoming even more pronounced. "I am not a lizard. I'm a Ri'Pel."

Gary's brow furrowed a little in confusion. "Reptile? That's what I said."

Yark growled softly, showing the sharp fang teeth he possessed, and he none-too-gently shoved the envelope with their assignment into Gary's chest. "Ri'Pel," Yark enunciated. "Classless urchin."

"I'm so-"

"Shut. Up," Shawn hissed through clenched teeth as he forcefully dragged Gary away, looking utterly mortified. "Dumbass!" he exclaimed in exasperation as they set off into the woods. "If you'd read _anything_ about Rymia _beyond_ ways to get off, you'd have known that the Ri'Pel are a warrior clan that make up the ruling nobility and the majority of the army's officer caste."

"I wasn't looking for ways to get-" Gary cut himself off. "Oh shit. Sort of like the samurai?"

"Samurai times a hundred. The clan is very small, but their men are coveted throughout the sector for their military genius. All the best armies have at least one Ri'Pel as an advisor, if not a general. Yark is the fucking _Lord Quaestor_ , meaning a prince _and_ head of the police special forces. Tch, you are a retard."

Gary scowled as he opened the envelope and pulled out their map. "Well excuse the hell out of me for not being the all-knowing Shawn Graeham, Senior Specialist. Rather than poncing around like some sort of superior asshole, you could be a proper mentor and, you know, _mentor_. How the fuck am I supposed to remember all this shit?"

"You remember it because you open a fucking book and study instead of whoring around the office, trying to stick your dick in any hole you can find!"

"I don't try to fuck everyone in the office!" Gary exploded as he gave Shawn a shove, crumpling the map between them. "Yeah, I don't know everything, but I work _damned_ hard at my job, and most people seem happy to share what they know."

"I can imagine how hard you work," Shawn said nastily as he pushed Gary back. "And I'm sure you've _shared_ a lot. Explains how an idiot like you even got into Theta Six."

Gary flushed in embarrassment; Shawn wasn't entirely wrong about him. "Yeah, so maybe I've done some skeevy things in the past, and maybe I had some help getting into Theta Six - but it's not the way you think. _Hank_ helped me study for the tests; we've been friends for years. But you're one to talk. Your aunt is head of HR. You'll always have your job. We're not all that lucky, you fucking dick." Gary dropped his pack, and in one smooth movement, clenched a fist and caught Shawn in the cheek.

Shawn reeled from the hit, but recovered quickly, shock rapidly turning to rage. Dropping his own things, he gave Gary a two-handed shove backwards, causing the redhead to stumble. Taking advantage of the situation, he landed a hard uppercut to the jaw, a cold, satisfied smirk curving his lips upwards when Gary dropped hard to his ass in the dirt. "Fucker," he sneered. "You don't know a goddamned thing about me, but you think you can open your big, fat idiot mouth and talk shit like you've got a fucking clue? You can go to hell."

The hypocrisy of Shawn's words was not lost on Gary, but as he wiped the blood from his lower lip with the back of his hand and clumsily got to his feet, he wisely decided to keep his _big, fat idiot mouth_ shut - at least for the time being. After working his jaw side to side and then pressing the tender area under his chin for a couple of moments, he decided that he was probably not too bad off, and he said, "Look, maybe you don't give a damn about passing this course, but this is gonna affect _my_ future."

"Like I give a damn what happens to you."

Gary's frown deepened. "Yeah, I get that; you've made that crystal clear. But maybe we can just do the job and try to work together since we're gonna have to partner up when we get home anyway?"

Shawn huffed irritably as he grabbed the map and half-assedly tried to smooth out the wrinkles. "Fine. The sooner this shit-show is done, the better. As for when we get back, if I get my way - and I usually do - we won't be partners." He offered a cold smirk, and then glanced down at the map. The trail to their campsite was well indicated, and Shawn scoffed. "The only way this could be easier would be if they'd left us a trail of crumbs to follow." Not bothering to wait for Gary, he stomped off down the path and took the trail to the left, completely oblivious to the fact that he was carrying the map upside down, and that his chosen trail had just taken him past the boundaries of the retreat, across the one-way bio-electric force field, and into the wild forests of Rymia.

After about two and a half hours, Shawn stopped walking, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Closing his eyes, he took a long draw and exhaled a thin ribbon of grey-blue smoke before cursing under his breath. "Where the fuck is it?" he muttered, thinking that they should have found their campsite by now. Narrowing his eyes as he took another hit from his smoke, he scanned the area, looking for anything that might give him some indication of where they were.

Gary stood next to him, also with a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Can I have a look at the map? Maybe I can help," he said finally. "When I was a kid, I was an Eagle-"

"No," Shawn interrupted. "You can _help_ by keeping your trap shut, standing over there somewhere, and not irritating me." He made a vague gesture towards some distant point.

Gary snorted as he exhaled a series of smoke rings. "We're lost. We've walked by that big boulder probably three times."

"I told you to shut it. And we're not lost. It's just…a little farther than it looks." He crushed the butt of his cigarette out under the toe of his boot, and walked about fifty metres down the path to the crest of a small ridge. "Ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly, unable to keep the smug smirk from his face when came upon a small clearing on the other side. "See? Told you I knew where we were."

Gary arched a dubious brow, but some of his typical good humour returned on hearing that. "Score," he replied as he put out the remnants of his smoke and joined the other. "I'm starving." The clearing looked comfortable enough. The ground was flat and grassy, though there was no discernable area where previous trainees had built fires. The surrounding flora consisted of tall, mature conifers with high, unreachable branches, and a strange looking fern, about seven feet tall, with wide, flat purple leaves. "Swanky," he joked, though as he looked around a bit more, he frowned. "Hey, uh…where's the tent supposed to be?"

"How the hell should I know?" Shawn said with a shrug, though he did frown as he looked at the narrow trails they'd been walking on. It would be near impossible for a vehicle, even a small off-road tracked cart, to get through, and an air drop was unlikely, too, given the density of the forest canopy. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and then narrowed accusingly as he was struck by a thought. "You!" he snarled as he rounded on the redhead, pointing a finger at him.

The vehemence of Shawn's tone surprised Gary, and as he looked at the angry man, he found himself starting to wonder if the other was just a bit bipolar, what with all the erratic mood swings. "The fuck?" he exclaimed. "What'd I do?"

"Opened your mouth is what! I bet you pissed Yark off, what with insulting him by calling him a fucking _Lizard Man_ , and to pay us back, he gave us one of those hard core assignments!"

"Me?" Gary replied defensively, his tone a bit more heated than he'd intended. "What about you? You were the one who pretty much called Savage stupid to his face!"

Shawn snorted. "Savage doesn't have the brains to come up with something that clever. Yark, on the other hand, does."

Gary opened his mouth to refute the point, and then promptly closed it. While he didn't know the two men very well, Shawn did make a valid observation. "Fine. Guess I fucked up again," he muttered under his breath. "Seems to be my way." He grabbed the map from Shawn and finally had a look at it. "Since it was my fuck-up, I'll go collect water. There's a stream just east of here; it's probably clean, but we'll boil it anyway just to be safe. In the meantime, can you gather up the deadfall from those pine trees? We can use it to start a fire." Not waiting for a reply, Gary headed off into the woods.

Shawn scowled as he watched Gary disappear into the woods. He hated being told what to do. He debated telling Gary to go to hell and gather the wood himself, but even as he grumbled about having to work, he did pick up about a dozen sticks and dump them in a pile in the middle of their camp. He'd just sat down on a rock and pulled out his cigarettes, only to look up in surprise to find Gary was already back, filthy and empty-handed, and looking slightly panicked. "I thought you were getting water?" He gestured to the paltry bundle of firewood. "I did my part, slacker."

Gary ignored the barb and said, "I nearly fell into a crevice."

Shawn shrugged. "So you're clumsy, as well as a dumbass."

"No really, I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

"I didn't ask." Shawn sparked up his smoke. "And your stupidity doesn't explain why you're back and with _no water_ , or why I'm doing all the work."

"Because we're _lost_!" Gary said hotly. "I was following the map, turned down the fork that _should have_ taken me to the stream, and instead, found myself grabbing at roots and rocks to keep from going over the edge." He jabbed a finger at the map. "We're not where we're supposed to be. In fact, I don't think we're even anywhere _on_ this map. We're lost."

Shawn shrugged again. "So? Send off one of those signal flares. It sucks, but it'll bring in the cavalry."

Gary shook his head. "Can't."

Shawn snorted. "Why? Because you're too proud to quit?" He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I read your file when I learned I was going to be partnered up with your happy ass. You've quit everything else in your life, so why should this be different? I'd think a loser like you would be used to failing by now."

"Fuck you," Gary replied as he felt his cheeks heat in shame. "That was a long time ago. It's different now. I'm different." He pressed his lips into a thin line when he saw Shawn make a 'blah blah' gesture with his hand, and he exhaled in frustration. "Look, asshole, ego has nothing to do with it. I can't send a flare because I don't have my pack."

"What?" Shawn said flatly. "How the fuck did you lose your pack?"

"Were you not just listening?" Gary said. "I said I nearly fell into a crevice. Where I expected there to be a stream. I had my pack on one shoulder, and when I fell, I twisted, and it just…kept going and fell to the bottom."

"So go get it."

Gary smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand, as if dumbstruck. "Oh, _brilliant_ idea!" He scowled at Shawn. "You don't think I thought about getting it? I would, but it's got to be a good fifty metres down, and I don't have climbing gear." He licked his lips to moisten them. "The rope and carabiners were in my pack."

Shawn blinked in stupefied silence for a moment, and then he exploded. "You complete _moron_!" he shouted. "You got us lost out in the middle of fuck knows where. You lost our flares. You lost our food. What the hell good are you?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Gary replied, holding his hands up in front of him defensively. "Yeah, I admit I fucked up and lost my pack - I should've known better and shouldn't have been carrying it that way, and I'll own that one. But I'm not totally at fault! You could have taken one of the flares in _your_ gear, for one thing, and for two, I'm for sure not taking the blame for us being out here."

"Why the hell not? Everything else to this point has been because of you!"

"Who had the fucking map and wouldn't share it?" Gary demanded, and despite the gravity of the situation, he did take some sadistic, but short-lived, amusement from the horrified expression that briefly flicked across Shawn's face. "Yeah. So you can suck a bag of dicks."

After a few moments of silence, the angry mask was again in place and Shawn said, "Well, if you hadn't started in with all that bullshit from the get-go, acting like a complete dumbass in front of the staff, and pissing me off, this wouldn't have happened."

Gary looked incredulous. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he exclaimed. "You're a fucking piece of work, you know that? Is your ego really _that_ big that you can't admit that, holy shit, you're human and you made a mistake? You're seriously going to blame me for everything?" He shook his head in a mixture of disbelief and disgust when the other remained stoically silent, jaw clenched tightly. "Fuck, fine. Whatever. It's all my fault. Happy now?"

"So long as you know where the problem lies."

"God, you're a righteous asshole. Must be fantastic to lord yourself over everyone, criticising everything, and never making a mistake. I feel sorry for your partner the first time you did this."

"Huh?" Shawn looked confused.

Gary irritably lit a cigarette and agitatedly exhaled, gesturing wildly with it as he spoke. "The first time, the first time! As a Senior Specialist, you've obviously had to do this already, and since we're going to be partners, I'm figuring they made you go again just so I wouldn't be by myself out here. And to keep an eye on me; pre-evaluate me since I’m still a Junior and technically on probation…"

Shawn was curious as to how Gary had come to that baffling conclusion, yet despite his curiosity, he felt no compunction to correct him. If Gary wanted to believe he was experienced, Shawn was prepared to let him. "You're an idiot." When he got no further reaction, a slender brow arched, and Shawn snorted in aggravation. "Whatever."

"So, what do we do?"

"You're asking me?"

Gary huffed in exasperation. "Well, since _I'm_ such a fuck up, and you've got all the answers…"

Shawn sneered and angrily grabbed the map from Gary's hands. "God, you're useless," he snapped as he turned on his heel and stormed off down the trail. 

"Shawn, wait!" Gary called after him. "Shawn!" When the other man showed no sign of stopping or coming back, Gary tipped his head back and glanced momentarily skyward in epic frustration. "Shit," he muttered under his breath and took off after the other. It was bad enough being lost, but for as curmudgeonly as Shawn was, he was company. Gary knew it would be worse on his own. Falling into step with the other, he said, "We should stay in the clearing. Wandering around, we might make it worse. Savage said-"

"Savage said…Savage said," Shawn parroted back snottily. "Just shut the fuck up. You asked me to take charge, so I am."

"But-"

"If you want to be a pussy and go sit on your ass in the clearing and wait it out like some sort of quivering Nancy, go do it. I'm finding us a way out of these woods." He made a face as he walked through a large spider web, and as he irritably slapped his hands at his arms to remove the invisible gossamer strands, he muttered, "I should have just let you partner with Yolanda and saved us all the aggravation." They walked in silence for several minutes, until Shawn narrowed his eyes and growled, "Say that again?"

Gary's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't say anything."

"Bullshit," Shawn replied. "Just now, I heard you say something under your breath. What's the matter? Don't have the balls to say it to my face?"

"Shawn, I swear I didn't say anything. I-" Gary cut himself off when he heard something akin to a guttural whisper near his ear, and he felt his blood turn to ice. "Oh fuck, _run_!" he shouted, and grabbing Shawn's wrist, he took off sprinting down the path.

"Shit, the map!" Shawn said as he tried to dig in his heels to go back for it.

"Screw the map, it's useless anyway," Gary argued as he tightened his grasp on the other's wrist and ran harder, not daring to look behind him. "Just run, and don't stop!" Blindly, the two tore through the woods, crashing through the brush and foliage, and when Gary saw a small pond just up ahead, he said, "Get in the water; we need to get as far as we can from shore. Now!" He started to pull Shawn into the water, but the other stopped when they were ankle deep. "What the hell, man? Quit fucking around and get in here!"

"I can't swim with the pack," Shawn said as he started to unbuckle his gear from around his waist.

"Shit, just drop it, or it's not going to matter anyway!" Gary said, and he reached into his boot, pulling out a bowie knife to slice through the straps on Shawn's backpack, letting it drop unceremoniously to the ground. "Come _on_!" He gave Shawn a shove, feeling only a slight modicum of guilt when Shawn wound up falling face first into the chilly water. Not relenting, he pulled the other out a fair distance from shore, treading water as his eyes nervously scanned the shoreline.

Shawn angrily pulled himself out of Gary's grasp, and as he kicked his feet to keep afloat, he demanded, "What the fuck is wrong with you? You'd better have a goddamned good reason for this."

Gary nodded, and pointed towards the shore, a haunted look on his face when he heard the strange whispering again. A few seconds later, a strange humanoid animal stood on the bank. It was about four feet tall, agonizingly thin, and was covered with leathery grey-brown skin. Short olive green feathers plumed at the shoulders, knees and elbows, while the hands and feet consisted of three digits each, each one ending in a sharp, four inch serrated claw. Beady yellow-green eyes set atop a very beetle-like head peered angrily across the water at the two men, and after letting out another quiet whisper, the creature's mandibles drew back and it opened its great maw with a blood-curdling shriek, revealing concentric rows of razor sharp teeth. "Thank bloody fuck that bastard can't swim."

Shawn's mouth fell open in a shocked gape. "What the _hell_ is that?" he asked as the animal screeched once more, and then grasped the fallen pack in its spindly arms and started to sniff it.

"It's called a Volari," Gary said as he shifted his gaze to Shawn, and he paused to run his tongue along his lips to moisten them. "It's pretty much a living, walking eating machine. Volari will eat just about anything, living or dead, organic or not…" He watched the animal swallow Shawn's pack whole, the rows of teeth moving in opposite directions to easily shred the contents like some sort of great garbage disposal before everything disappeared down the gullet. He shuddered. "It's all fair game."

Shawn looked at Gary dubiously. "Volari? I've never heard of them," he scoffed.

"Just because _you_ haven't heard of it, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, asswipe," Gary replied crossly, returning his attention to the beach. "Not too many get to that stage, so they're pretty rare. And they're fucking dangerous, obviously, so if one shows up where people live, they're hunted and killed. I'm guessing Gamma Epsilon either doesn't know they've got one, or they figure it's living outside the compound, and they don't care." Gary offered a sardonic smile. "S'why I think we're off the map. Savage would be all over hunting one of those down, and I doubt one could run around free in the training field without him or Yark knowing about it. 'Sides, it wouldn't look good for business if they routinely had candidates eaten, y'know?" The creature gave them one last look, and then stalked off. "It's eaten; we should be okay to go back to shore now." He offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "They're solitary, so there's probably only going to be the one. They tend to fight to the death if another comes onto their turf."

Shawn rolled his eyes as they started swimming back to shore. "I don't get you. How the fuck do you know about Volari, but you've never heard of Ri'Pel?"

Gary's smile faded. "That's how I got this scar on my cheek. I was lucky." He shrugged as he pulled himself onto the shore and squeezed the water from his hair, stripping an elastic band from his wrist and pulling it back into a low ponytail. "My brother, he studied them. They were discovered when we started travelling by Jump Ships. Wherever the Volari come from, they get picked up on the hulls of ships, and they start out looking like big specks of dirt. Fortunately, most never get to grow up, because they burn up in the atmosphere, or people walk on them, or they get washed away and drown…and it takes them a long time to get to adulthood, so like I said, not too many of them make it. Once in a while, one makes it out to some wilderness somewhere and is left alone to grow up. Then the shit hits the fan." He started gathering up driftwood from the shore. "If that Volari's out there, I don't want to get too far away from a water source. I think we should build a fire and wait it out until tomorrow."

Shawn snorted. "Do what you want to. Sounds like you've got it all figured out anyway." He moved a little farther down the beach and sat on a log, setting his cigarettes out next to him in an attempt to dry them out.

Gary opened his mouth to retort, and then promptly closed it, instead giving the other man the finger before waving him off dismissively. Leaving Shawn to his sulking, Gary turned his attention to gathering up some wood, and then some kindling and dried moss and leaves. Once he had everything prepared, he fished around in the pocket of his coat and pulled out his cigarettes and matches. "Shit, my matches are wet," he muttered sheepishly, even as he set his own pack of smokes down on a log to dry out. "Heh, good thing my brother made me join Eagle Scouts, eh?" he remarked, finishing the comment he'd tried to share earlier as he kicked at the shore with the toe of his boot, looking at the different rocks.

From where he sat, Shawn snorted in sadistic delight. "What kind of idiot still uses matches?" He held up his Zippo. "They _always_ work when you need them to." He flicked the thumbwheel, the arrogant smirk fading when he got a bit of spark, and not much else. He shook it, and tried again with the same result. Realizing it was out of fuel, he stuck it back in his pocket, and waved the now-smirking Gary off. "Get bent. Carry on then, Daniel Boone."

His amusement short-lived, Gary continued his search. Finally, he let out a triumphant sound as he crouched down and selected a stone, rubbing it off on his still-damp pants in an attempt to dry it off some, and then blew on it. A few minutes later, he pulled out his knife and crouched down by the little pile of moss and small twigs he'd bundled together. Concentrating intently, he struck the blade against the rock, trying to make a spark. When nothing happened after a few tries, he glanced over at a snickering Shawn. "If you can do better?" When the other's response was to sober, stick his pinky finger in his ear, and obstinately look the other way, Gary sighed and returned to his task. Narrowing his gaze and focusing on the job with renewed determination, he struck the steel to the rock a few more times, and was finally rewarded with a small, delicate ember smouldering amid the tinder. Gingerly, he picked up the pile and carefully blew. The smoke intensified, and a few seconds later, there was a faint red glow. Encouraged, he slid the tinder box into the fire pit, and slowly, with painstaking care, he carefully added small twigs and more moss, nurturing the fledgling flame. Finally, some of the larger sticks lit, and he was soon rewarded with a warm, crackling campfire. "Ha!" he exclaimed as he moved his cigarettes closer to the heat of the fire, and he sat down in front of it, glad to have some of the warmth against his skin and damp clothing.

After about twenty minutes, Gary glanced behind him and saw that Shawn was still sitting on his log, and still looking away from him, but huddled in on himself and shivering slightly. "There's room for one more," he remarked. As before, Shawn pointedly ignored him, and with a heavy sigh, Gary got to his feet and went to stand in front of the other man. Bowing in an elaborate, almost mocking, gesture, he copped a posh accent and said, "Captain Graeham, Sir, will you please do me the honour of sitting in my presence before the fire, even if I am just a lowly Squad Lieutenant and Junior Peon?"

Shawn glanced at him and scowled. "Fuck off."

Gary huffed and rolled his eyes, frustrated by the stupidity of it all. "Now you're just being a stubborn ass. I can see you're cold, and I can see you're wet. Just come over and dry off." He shook his head and turned his back on the other. "Or fuck, don't. The only one you're hurting by staying over here is you. Screw arguing with you; I'm going go back there to be warm. What the hell do I care if you're uncomfortable?" He sat down on the ground, his back against a log and reclined slightly against it. He was starting to get some feeling back in his toes when he heard a shuffling next to him, and then Shawn was sitting beside him, a slightly damp cigarette dangling limply from between his lips. Gary didn't say anything. He simply bowed his head forward, the wayward strands of red hair falling forward to hide his smile. Eventually, he reached for one of his own smokes, and with the end of a stick, he managed to light it. He offered his cigarette to Shawn, who lit his own off of the cherry, and the two of them smoked in silence for a while as twilight fell. After a while, Gary was aware of Shawn staring at him, and he glanced to his side, offering a curious arch of a brow. "What did I do now?"

"Quit being so fucking paranoid." Shawn shifted his attention back to the fire, and then shrugged. "I was wondering if we should sleep in shifts, in case that thing comes back."

Gary shook his head. "Nah. Like I said, it ate. Even if it was our sleeping bags, it should keep it happy for a little while. 'Sides, they don't see too good in the dark, so…" He shrugged himself and trailed off.

Shawn gestured with his chin towards Gary's cheek. "One of them really did that?"

Gary nodded. "Yeah. I told you my brother studied them? I was with him on one of his research trips when I was a kid. He'd trapped one and had it in his lab. Remember I told you there's usually only one 'cause they kill each other off? I guess the big guy hadn't had a chance to track down one of his brothers yet, so when I was out playing one day, I ran into a little one." He poked at a burning log with a stick, watching the embers flare a brilliant orange. "It didn't have all its teeth and claws yet, but it could still kill and eat. If my brother hadn't been there, hadn't shot it, I'd have been dead for sure. Silver lining? Having an intact junior cadaver, he got offered a fellowship at Cambridge, and then when he graduated, he was picked for a ten-year xenobiology expedition. Downside is I haven't seen him since. He writes, sometimes, but you know how shitty communication from space is."

"We could use some of our resources at Theta Six to set up a face-to-face, probably?"

Gary shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I know he's busy, and doesn't need me bugging him. It's okay. Really." His mouth curved up in a small grin. "Least I'll have a cool story to tell him about the Bogey-Bugs." When he saw Shawn's curious brow arch, he said, "That's what I used to call 'em as a kid, 'cause I couldn't remember Volari. They look kind of like bugs to me, and they sneak up on you and do that creepy whisper just before they attack, sort of like a Bogeyman."

Shawn snorted in amusement. "I'll take my chances with the Bogeyman, thanks. Fuck, this could have gone sideways really fast if you hadn't-" He cut himself off, his own attention now on the fire as an odd, uncomfortable twinge settled in his gut. He thought about how, if he'd been on his own, he'd likely still be wet and cold (assuming he hadn't become some creature's afternoon snack). Gary had saved his life (twice, if he was being honest), and he didn't know how to feel about that. He'd always made his own way, and he wasn't used to trusting others, or counting on them when the chips were down. He was grateful, but having relied solely on himself for so long, he didn't know _what_ to say. He didn't really do apologies, and when it came to gratitude, that was pretty much uncharted territory for him. Clearing his throat, Shawn nodded towards the fire. "I guess you're not completely fucking useless."

Gary gaped. "Thanks?" he replied dryly, and then he chuckled. He supposed that coming from Shawn, such an endorsement was truly high praise. He flicked the butt of his cigarette into the fire, and after exhaling a thin ribbon of smoke, he murmured, "I guess you're not a complete asshole, either. Sometimes, maybe, you can even be kind of okay to be around." He saw Shawn offer him a small, but genuine smile. "I mean, you've gotta sleep sometime, right?" he joked, adding in a wink to show he was kidding.

Shawn blinked in surprise for a couple of seconds, and then with a snort, he said, "Blow me."

Gary's brows shot up to his hairline, and his mouth worked silently for a second. "W-what?"

"Smooth, Casanova. You heard me, asshat."

Again, Gary found himself at a loss for words. Finally, he smirked. " _Hilariously_ witty, Shawn."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

If he hadn't been sitting down, Gary could have been knocked over with a feather. "O-okay, so you're _not_ joking, b-but…do you mean that how I think you mean it, or how I hope you do?"

Shawn shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned back against a piece of driftwood and drew up one lanky leg to plant the foot flat in front of him, splaying his legs slightly. "Guess you'll have to take a guess and find out. My fist, or my dick; either way, your gums won't be flapping for a few minutes."

Gary ran the tip of his tongue along his upper teeth, a very lewd smile gradually creeping across his face as he slowly got to his knees and turned to face Shawn. "You talk a good game, but personally? I don't think you've ever _had_ a blowjob." 

"Fuck you; I have." Shawn felt his cheeks grow hot, and he looked everywhere but at Gary.

Gary licked his lips as he reached for Shawn's belt, the smile widening when he heard the slight hitch of breath even as Shawn slapped his hand away. It was obvious that Shawn was lying. "S'okay. Nothing to feel bad about. 'Sides, I like being the guy to set the standard." Gary waited until he saw Shawn's posture relax, and again, he reached for Shawn's belt, making a mental note to watch his mouth - or at least, try to. Gary had been trying for a repeat of the make-out session they'd had at the Christmas party for some time now, but every time he came on to Shawn, he'd get skittish and push him away. He had no doubt that Shawn wanted _something_. He just didn't know if the reluctance was a) Gary, personally, b) that Shawn was just a spectacular cock tease, or c) that Shawn was inexperienced - or maybe some strange combination of all three. Thumbing open the button and lowering the fly, Gary parted the material only to have his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "No underwear," he drawled as he slipped a hand inside, pleased to find that Shawn was already half-hard. "Kinky fucker." He met the angry gaze when he felt Shawn's hand on his wrist, pushing him away, and he shook his head. "S'good. I like it. Shows you're human after all." With his other hand, he carefully pried Shawn's fingers away as he gave Shawn's dick a gentle squeeze. "Please? No more jokes, I promise."

Licking his lips once more, Gary carefully pulled Shawn's cock out of his pants, and he took a moment to marvel at its size and length. It was better than he'd imagined it to be, and his mouth watered in anticipation as he brushed his thumb over the damp tip. He smiled a little when he heard Shawn let out a barely audible gasp, and he encouraged Shawn to lift his hips a little as he pulled his pants down to his knees. Gary glanced at Shawn's face, which was a blank mask, but from Shawn's body language, Gary knew that Shawn was still willing, but nervous. Wisely saying nothing, he put his hands on Shawn's hips and dipped his head, giving a teasing flick of tongue to the slit. He felt Shawn's body tremble slightly, and encouraged, he gave a more complete swipe across the head, running the very tip of his tongue around the crown. Wetting his lips to moisten them, Gary took Shawn's length into his mouth, inch by inch, until he reached the root. Holding him there, Gary swallowed around the shaft, a pleasured hum vibrating low in his throat and traversing along Shawn's dick as he lightly sucked. Breathing hard through his nose, Gary just as slowly eased back, and when he reached the tip, he hollowed his cheeks and gave a hard suck before releasing him with a soft 'pop'. "Fuck, you taste good," he whispered.

Shawn didn't hear him, or if he had, the comment didn't register, as the first touch of that hot, wet tongue to his cock had short-circuited his brain. The feel of Gary's lips, teeth and tongue on him was slowly driving him mad, and the heat of Gary's mouth, and the way his throat constricted around him was giving him a very pleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt a warm wetness around him again, and through half-lidded eyes he watched the way Gary's head bobbed up and down on his shaft. Each time Gary took him completely down his throat, Shawn could feel the hot exhales of breath against his pubic hair, and when Gary would release him, the way the evening air felt against his saliva-slicked cock, it sent a shiver of pure pleasure through his frame. This time, when Gary backed off, he lightly grazed up the length of his dick with his teeth, and Shawn let his head fall back against the log as he loosed a strangled groan, his hand moving to fist in the long, red hair. Feeling his impending climax, he arched his hips up as he brought Gary's head down, and panting softly, he began to thrust into the other's mouth.

Gary felt a shiver of excitement race down his spine and shoot straight to his groin when Shawn pulled his hair, and his dick ached for release of its own as another trickle of pre-come dribbled onto his tongue. He felt Shawn arch his hips, and as Shawn's cock was forced down his throat, he relaxed his jaw and took it like a champ, sucking hard and moaning lowly as he was rather expertly face-fucked. Before long, Shawn's movements were becoming jerkier and more erratic, and Gary knew that he was getting close to completion. Needing to find release of his own, he hastily fumbled with his own pants, lowering them and his boxers enough to free his throbbing erection. Bracing himself with one hand, he let Shawn control the pace as he wrapped his other hand around his length and began to furiously stroke. As he sucked, he felt Shawn's body tense, and heard him groan softly. The sound was raw and sensual, and with a lustful moan of his own, Gary shuddered out his release, coming over his hand and onto the ground as he continued to suck Shawn off.

Shawn's breath was coming in shallow, ragged pants as he tried to hold off his orgasm for as long as he could to prolong the experience. He heard Gary moan lowly, and felt the vibrations travel up the length of his dick, and the last of his restraint snapped. Bucking his hips upward, he bit his lower lip to hold back the strangled shout as he hit his peak, sending pulse after pulse down Gary's throat.

When the first splash of come hit his tongue, Gary wrapped his lips tighter around Shawn's shaft and sucked hard, greedily milking him of every drop he had to offer. Even when Shawn's body had stilled and he felt him slump back against the log, he continued to suck. Slowly, so as not to waste any, Gary carefully eased Shawn's semi-erect penis from between his lips, and then proceeded to lick along the underside of the shaft, pausing to delve into the slit and rim the crown before sitting back on his heels. Panting softly as he waited for his breathing to even out, he wiped his hand carelessly across his thigh, and then tucked himself back into his cargo pants and zipped up, lighting a cigarette and contentedly smoking it while he waited for Shawn.

By the time the two of them had recovered from their orgasm, the sun had completely set. As darkness descended, the air took on a biting chill and the temperature quickly began to drop. Stoking the fire to last them through the night, Gary took their slightly damp jackets and zipped the two together to form a makeshift blanket. Lying down behind Shawn, he draped the cloth over the two of them to offer some protection from the cold, and draped an arm over the slender form in front of him. "Not too awful," Gary murmured as he pillowed his head on his arm.

"Nah," Shawn agreed. "Just…don't go and ruin this by doing something stupid."

"Wouldn't dream of it. G'night, Shawn." Gary smiled against the blond locks when he got a half-hearted grunt in return. He listened to the soft, rhythmic breathing for a few minutes, and then he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Shawn's head.

"See? That was stupid," came the mumbled response. "Do that again, and I swear to God, I'll kill you."

* * *

If the night had been cold, the sunrise brought with it an almost crushing heat. It was one of the unique features of the natural Rymian climate: abysmally cold nights, hot and humid until mid-morning, and then transitioning to warm, temperate days. Inhabited areas had climate generators that minimized the effects and kept things constantly pleasant, but out in the forest, they were at the full mercy of Mother Nature. As the sun had peeked above the horizon and the mercury had started to climb, sleeping had quickly become uncomfortable. The sun had been up for maybe an hour now, and already, it was sweltering. And that wasn't doing much to improve the mood around the campsite. The two men hadn't slept well as it was, and the combination of stress, fatigue, and now heat, created the proverbial powder keg looking for a match.

"God, this sucks," Gary moaned as he sat, legs splayed, on a piece of driftwood.

"Bitching about it only adds your hot air. Shut it," Shawn replied irritably, a sneer passing across his face when he felt a bead of sweat run down his back.

Gary rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He was quiet for a moment, then said, "It's not that I hate the heat. I prefer it, actually. It's just, if I'm going to be all sweaty, I'd rather be getting the canoe shellacked, heh." He slipped a slightly crumpled cigarette between his lips and lit the end with a smouldering stick from the fire.

Shawn grabbed his own sad looking pack of smokes and reached for a splint himself. "Jesus, you're a fucking letch," he said as he lit up.

"Letch, lover…it's all a matter of perspective. But seriously, a little slap and tickle can get anyone in a good mood." Shawn waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "You should try it sometime."

Shawn snorted as he exhaled. "With you? Not with a borrowed dick."

Gary arched a brow, looking momentarily affronted, and then shrugged. "Suit yourself. You might like it, though." Moaning to himself about the heat, he tugged off his t-shirt, and used the cloth to wipe his brow. It felt marginally cooler, though that well may have been psychosomatic.

"Don't flatter…yourself…" Shawn trailed off when he glanced over and saw Gary was now bare-chested. A flood of heat rushed to his cheeks, and to his groin, as he remembered the Christmas party and of putting his hands on the well-muscled pecs and abs. "For Christ's sake, put your clothes back on," he muttered as he bent his head and quickly lit another smoke.

"You know, for such a badass, you're really kind of a prude. If someone you're chasing strips off in front of you, do they get away when you stop and cover your eyes?"

Shawn's mouth worked silently for a moment, and then he said, "Go to hell. If you get sunburned and can't walk, I'm leaving you here to rot." His lips curled up in a bit of a snarl when Gary merely puckered up and blew a kiss in his direction. "You're an asshole."

Gary responded with a double one-fingered salute and a crooked smirk. He was quiet for about five minutes, and then he asked seriously, "Do you think anyone's noticed we're missing yet? I mean, I wonder how long they'd let things go tonight before someone comes looking for us."

Shawn shrugged. "Dunno."

"I've been thinking, too. You know, about our situation. And I'm thinking we should maybe stay here. The sun's brutal right now, and at least here we've got water. What do you think?"

"You're asking me?" Shawn replied, feeling his irritation starting to creep up.

"Well, yeah! Dude, you've been through all this shit before. Look, if you're waiting for me to say I'm stuck, and don't know what to do, and I'm pathetic, then fine. I get it. I suck and I need your help, okay?" There was a definite uneasiness in the crimson eyes. "Please?"

"No. I can't."

Gary was visibly shocked by the answer. "Seriously? We're like, _beyond_ fucked out here, and you're going to be a hard ass about following the _rules_? Shit, man, that's cold - especially since you're just as boned as I am!"

Shawn licked his lips and looked away, unable to hold that hangdog gaze any longer. "It's not because I don't want to. It's because I _can't_ help." He saw the confusion in the other's expression, and pressing his lips into a thin line, he set his jaw and muttered quietly, "I've never been here before, because I've managed to blow off taking this for a few years now. And I'm not here to evaluate you. I'm taking the course _with_ you. I don't know any more than you do." The confession stung, as did the ensuing swell of guilt, and Shawn clenched his hands into tight fists as he studiously avoided looking at Gary.

Gary's mouth hung open for a moment, and then slowly morphed into a scowl as an angry furrow appeared between his brows. Getting to his feet, he stood over Shawn and jabbed his finger in the air towards him. "You motherfucker! You lied to me!"

"I never lied," Shawn objected as he quickly got to his feet, too. "You, like a dumbass, _assumed_ that was why I was here. Don't blame me because you jumped to conclusions." That was how Shawn had worked since his arrival at Theta Six, preferring to let his legendary reputation more than his actual skills speak for him. And, as the Senior Specialist, he very rarely left the office anymore. He tended to shaft the lion's share of what he felt was grunt work onto those junior to him. He put in some time on the range to maintain his marksmanship designations, and he did study for his annual assessments, but he'd gotten very good at shirking any actual work, which in turn had made him somewhat lazy. In the last six months, he'd spent a grand total of twelve hours in the field - and that was only because there had been a high-profile case, and all eyes had been on him.

"Well…you never bothered to set the record straight, did you?" Gary said.

"Why should I? What I do isn't your business anyway." Shawn levelled a glare at his partner. "So get over it. I don't owe you fuck all."

Gary's scowl deepened, and he muttered lowly, "Shit, I should've partnered up with Yolanda. At least she would've worked with me, and not been a prissy bitch the whole time."

Shawn's brows rooted for his hairline. "Like fuck that was going to happen!" he snapped. "You're _my_ partner."

"What the hell ever! You said yourself that when we get back, we're not going to be working together, so what the hell do you care, anyway?" Gary asked hotly.

Shawn snorted in irritation. "Tch. Don't flatter yourself; I don't care."

"Obviously," Gary replied waspishly. "You've made that clear from the second I got on the Jump Ship. But that's fine. I think I've figured you out." When Shawn just glared at him, as if daring him to continue, he took a deep breath and pressed on. "You're just that much of a contrary asshole. You never saw me as a partner, and you never wanted to work with me. You only agreed after I found someone else, and you pulled rank." He grabbed his crotch and hefted it. "Suck it, Shawn. For the record, I don't want to be your partner, either. I'd sooner be eaten alive by a Volari. Probably less painful than having to deal with your bullshit 24/7."

Shawn was surprised by how much the comment - whether Gary had meant it or not - stung. And he was even more surprised by his reaction. "You fucking _bastard_ ," Shawn hissed as he sucker punched Gary with a hard left to the gut, a nasty smirk curling his lips upward as he watched Gary double over, coughing for a breath. His amusement was short-lived because Gary caught his balance this time, and launched himself at Shawn, returning the favour with a sharp jab to the cheek. For about a half second, Shawn was stunned still. Then, he narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits, grabbed Gary around the waist in a wrestling grapple, and roughly tackled him to the ground. Maybe he _hadn't_ spent as much time in the gym as he should have over the past few months, but Shawn was no slouch when it came to fighting.

Gary's head hit hard enough for him to see stars, and he was momentarily grateful that they were on a beach rather than on hard ground. He put his hands on Shawn's chest and tried to push him off, but Shawn just grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the ground. Gary struggled, only to curse loudly when Shawn's grip tightened. "Ow, shit!" Shawn was a lanky fucker, to be sure, but he was deceptively strong. "What the fuck is-mmph!" He was silenced by a pair of warm lips being crushed against his own in a bruising kiss. Before Gary had time for his brain to register what was happening and appropriately respond, Shawn had pulled away and was glaring furiously down at him.

"There is no _fucking_ way I'm sharing you with some big-titted bimbo. I said you're mine," Shawn seethed before he again attacked Gary's mouth, this time forcing his tongue past the other's lips to take the kiss deeper.

The aggressive, unapologetic embrace sent tiny jolts of pleasure through Gary's entire frame. His own tongue moved against the invading muscle as he felt his cock rapidly hardening, and he jerked hard against Shawn's hold, breaking his hands free. Quickly, his arms went around Shawn's body, and he hooked a long leg around one of Shawn's calves. Using his additional height and weight to his advantage to flip them over, he angled his head slightly to get a deeper taste of the other's mouth, his hands running smoothly up Shawn's arms to twine their fingers together.

Shawn closed his eyes for a moment when he felt Gary respond to his kiss, and he groaned lowly as a pleasant heat began to pool low in his belly. Though when he felt his back hit the ground a few seconds later, he tore his mouth free and turned his head to the side. "Get off me, idiot!" he demanded.

"No." Despite the baleful glare he received in response, Gary smirked as he took note of the flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips. "What's going on, Shawn? Are you jealous?"

"I said get the fuck off me!" Shawn snapped, and this time he bucked his hips upward in an attempt to dislodge the other.

Gary's smirk widened and his eyes shaded briefly as he felt an unmistakable hardness press against him. "And I asked are. You. Jealous?" When Shawn struggled harder against him, Gary drew in a hissed breath through clenched teeth as he pressed his hips downward, grinding his own erection against Shawn's. "I didn't fuck her, if that's what you're worried about." He gave Shawn a very libidinous grin when he heard the strangled groan. "She's smoking hot, and I know you think I run around fucking anything on two legs, but I've got my eye on someone else right now." He continued to slowly rock against Shawn, and he grinned when, instead of fighting against him, Shawn began to hesitantly move _with_ him.

"Fuck you," Shawn replied, though there was no actual malice behind the words.

"D'you want to?" Gary asked with a low chuckle as he gave a hard thrust, unable to hold back the soft moan.

"No." Shawn's eyes narrowed further, and a dangerous smirk quirked up one corner of his mouth.

"Oh, fuck me!" Gary whimpered pathetically as he slowly shook his head in disbelief. Shawn looked fuckably dishevelled, and Gary's dick throbbed painfully in the confines of his trousers. "You're such a fucking cock tease," he groused, remembering how Shawn had got him all worked up at the Christmas party and then disappeared, leaving Gary with a serious case of blue balls.

"No." Shawn's smirk widened. "I want you to fuck _me_." 

"What?" Gary nearly came in his pants as he realized he was on the verge of making one of his favourite wank fantasies come true.

Shawn huffed impatiently. "Tch. Make me say it again, and you can go jerk it somewhere for all I care. And you'd better be good."

Gary wasn't about to pass up the golden invitation - or in this case, the golden blond - that had just been offered to him, and he quickly sat back on his ass and kicked off his half-tied combat boots before stripping off his boxers and cargo pants. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh of relief as his cock sprung free, jutting out eagerly as pre-come moistened the tip. Licking his lips, he shifted to his knees as he unbuckled the wide leather belt Shawn wore, and then thumbed open the button on his pants. "I still say you're a kinky fucker, and I like it," he murmured as he parted the material and eased Shawn's cock free, his own dick twitching in anticipation when he felt the rigid length pulse against his palm. He gave the thick length a couple of cursory strokes, grinning when his actions drew a wanton gasp from the other, and then he hooked his thumbs into the waistband and tugged the garment down Shawn's legs to his ankles. Shawn's boots were a bit of an obstacle, as he'd already fully laced and tied them, but after a moment's cursing and fumbling, Gary managed to toss them carelessly aside, Shawn's pants joining them seconds later. Gary took a long, leering look, and murmured, "God, you're hot."

"Are you going to talk all day, or are we going to fuck?" Shawn asked as he stripped off his tank top and set it to the side, then leaned back on his elbows, legs splayed, and looked up at Gary.

"Christ, you're demanding," Gary replied, though he did take a second to admire the view before he moved between Shawn's thighs, running his hands up the smooth muscle to his hips. Gary remembered how Shawn had responded the night previous, and he slowly lowered his torso to give a long, languid lick to the underside of Shawn's cock. When he reached the tip, Gary ran the flat of his tongue along the slit, and then rimmed the crown before erotically curling his tongue back into his mouth as a playful growl rumbled in his throat. He grinned, then lowered his head again, loose strands of red hair tickling along Shawn's hipbone as Gary mouthed over the bony protrusion, sucking gently. He kissed his way over to Shawn's balls, catching some of the delicate skin loosely between his teeth and tugging gently before he drew one of the firm globes into his mouth and sucked, humming lowly.

Shawn tipped his head back as Gary's talented tongue once again was on him. He'd never admit as much, but he didn't think he'd ever get tired of the way Gary's mouth felt. He bit his lip against the moan when that tongue licked a searing trail up the underside of his dick, though when Gary drew one of his balls into his mouth, he arched his back slightly and roughly fisted the long ponytail, giving a few shallow thrusts down Gary's throat. Gary released him, and Shawn relaxed his hold slightly, only to arch his back and grunt out a muted, "Fuck!" when Gary dipped his head lower and licked over his hole.

"Liked that, eh?" Gary murmured cockily, and bracing himself on one arm, he stuck the middle finger of his other hand into his mouth and then slowly withdrew it, leaving it slick and glistening with saliva. Teasingly, he ran his fingertip around the tight ring, and when he felt Shawn relax, he pressed it inside, biting his lower lip against the moan that threatened as that searing heat surrounded him. Shawn was hot and tight, and as Gary slowly finger fucked him, he lowered his head to again press soft kisses and gentle nips to Shawn's balls, interspersed with feather light licks and soft sucks to the underside of his cock.

Shawn again tugged at Gary's ponytail, his head falling back and lips parting slightly in a pleasured snarl. His hips arched up once more when Gary slipped in a second finger, pressing into him hard and deep, flirting with his prostate. Coupled with what Gary was doing with his mouth, Shawn soon found himself on the verge of release, and they hadn't even fucked yet. After a couple more thrusts, he pulled back on Gary's hair to make him stop. "Now. Quit arsing around; I want you to fuck me now."

Gary liked that Shawn wasn't afraid to tell him what he wanted, and he nodded as he pulled his fingers free. Licking his lips, he positioned himself at Shawn's opening, Gary's entire body tight with anticipation. Swallowing thickly, he grasped Shawn's hips, arched his own forward, and pushed in. He felt the initial resistance, and then he was sliding all the way in, sheathing himself deep inside of Shawn. "Ohhhhh, fuck!" he groaned in pleasure as their bodies touched, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he arched his hips back, and then pushed in again. He felt Shawn's body twitch in response, gripping him even tighter, and as they started to move as one, he knew he wasn't going to last long.

Shawn let out a low moan that was more felt than heard as Gary penetrated him. The feeling was intense, each thrust ratcheting his desire up another notch until he soon found himself walking that razor's edge of release. He arched his hips up, one leg hooking around Gary's waist, opening himself up further so Gary could go deeper. Shawn's hand grasped Gary's other hip, roughly squeezing his ass and then pulling him closer, as if trying to pull Gary inside of him. He was close now, and still, he wanted more. "Harder!" he panted. "Fuck, you're not going to break me."

Gary grabbed the thigh around his waist, bringing Shawn's leg up closer to his chest, and he dropped to his elbows as he began thrusting harder, sensually rolling his hips as he pounded into the pliant body beneath him. Finding Shawn's mouth, he kissed him, hot and hard, all tongue and teeth as he expertly drilled Shawn's sweet spot. Shawn responded with equal fervor, his body arching fully upwards, driving Gary to his climax. Shawn's cock slid against Gary's belly, their bodies slick with sweat and pre-come. The air was filled with the sounds of harsh panting and the slap of skin on skin as they fucked, the action raw and primal. Gary felt that familiar tightening in his belly, and he roughly pulled away from the kiss to lick and suck at Shawn's neck as he worked to bring him over the edge.

Shawn moaned and tipped his head back, the pleasured torment of Gary's mouth on his neck and his cock in his ass too much to bear. With a stuttered groan, his body tightened around Gary's dick, his come splashing up between them as he tumbled over that precipice into euphoric bliss.

Gary felt the warm wetness, felt Shawn's body become almost impossibly tight, yet still, he continued to fuck him. The vision of Shawn in the throes of orgasm was one of the most erotic sights Gary had ever witnessed, and seeing Shawn so unguarded, so _human_ was his undoing. Gary managed a few more hard thrusts, and then with a low groan of completion, his body shuddered and he came hard, capturing Shawn's mouth in a bruising kiss as he rode out his orgasm. As his body relaxed, he collapsed into a boneless heap, unable to do anything but pant softly in Shawn's ear as he lay there, spent but dizzyingly content. "Holy fuck," he breathed, and he smiled against the damp skin at Shawn's nape before he pressed his lips in a gentle kiss. He felt Shawn's fingers tracing idle circles against his one shoulder as he slipped out of him, and Gary continued to lay there in comfortable silence, getting his breathing and heart rate back to normal.

"Get off me," Shawn mumbled after a moment. "You're heavy as fuck."

Gary pushed himself up a bit onto his forearms and looked into Shawn's eyes. "That was fucking… _amazing_."

"Tch, you sound like a fucking twelve year old girl. Get off." Shawn put a hand to the centre of Gary's chest and pushed. After a brief resistance, Gary eased himself back onto his heels and just grinned. "I did," he said. "Get off, that is."

"You're an idiot." Shawn sat up and tugged his shirt back on, and after scanning the area and locating his wayward trousers, he fumbled in the pocket for his cigarettes. He opened the pack, only to crush it in his fist a moment later and toss it in the fire when he saw it was empty. "Goddammit." He sat there for another second or two, and then pulled on his pants. "Fucking hell," Shawn grumbled as he buckled the belt. "Now I've got sand in my ass."

Gary snickered as he finished dressing and then lit two cigarettes - his last two - and passed one to Shawn. "I know that's not all you've got in your ass," he leered.

"Screw you," Shawn fired back grumpily, even as he took the offered cigarette and took a long drag before starting to tie his boots.

"You want to?" Gary asked with a leer as he moved to unfasten his belt.

"Keep it in your pants, jackoff. Yeah, you were goddamned good, but that doesn’t mean I like you, or I'm going to bend over for you whenever you want it." 

Gary blew an air kiss at Shawn as a dirty smirk curved his lips upward. "Liar. You more than like me. You just can't admit it."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Remember what I told you last night about saying stupid things?" He saw the leering smirk widen, and he made a face. "Fuck, your smokes taste like shit."

Gary snorted in amusement, exhaling a bit of smoke through his nostrils as he did so. "If you don't like it, smoke one of your own. Oh wait, you're out." He glanced sidelong at Shawn. "Asshole." The two fell silent, until finally, Gary licked his lips and then asked, "So, is this always how we're going to do things? Fight, then fuck?"

Shawn gave a half shrug, though he did smirk. "If it ain't broke…"

"What? You don't want me to call you Schmoopy-Pants around the office? Leave you love notes?" Gary exaggeratedly batted his eyelashes, and then chuckled at the murderous glare. "Yeah. S'what I thought." He took the last drag off his cigarette and then flicked the butt into the smouldering embers of their fire and stood up. "Well, I guess we should do _something_ , eh?"

"Yeah," Shawn said as he, too, got to his feet, kicking some sand onto the fire to smother it completely. He heard some rustling on the trail, and froze, his eyes going round and wide as he looked at Gary. "Shit! You think-?"

"The water," Gary said urgently, and the two of them splashed into the pond, moving out deep enough to where they had to tread water.

A couple of moments later, a scowling Yark and a grinning Savage appeared on the trail. Yark's eyes narrowed to lizard-like slits when he saw the two men in the pond, and he snapped, "What in the bloody hell are you two fools doing? Get your sorry selves over here immediately." His upper lip curled back in a sneer as he watched the two slog their way up the beach and present themselves before him. "Do you two have _any_ idea the amount of inconvenience you've caused? With the maps we provided, this should have been simple for even a couple of simpletons. How you even managed to get out of the compound is a feat of great stupidity in and of itself, but then, to find you here, frolicking about with no gear, I-" He cut himself off with a low growl and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Theta Six is supposed to be made of elite law enforcement personnel. Professionals. The best of the best that ISDI-Prime has to offer." Yark snorted. "Obviously, that perception is false, and this exercise was nothing but a joke to the two of you. Well, here's the real joke - you both fail. Spectacularly. Congratulations. In all my years of doing this, you are, without a doubt, the _worst_ candidates I've ever had the misfortune of teaching."

Savage, who was still grinning like an idiot, stepped forward then and clapped a huge hand across Yark's shoulders. "Ah, don't be like that, Yark," he said. "These two, I think they did all right. This was beyond hard core." He winked at Shawn. "See, I _told_ you that you could do it, Captain. And holy shit, did you prove me right. I, for one, am proud of you. Gold star in my book. I like that outta the box thinking."

Yark looked like he'd just swallowed a lemon. "Well, as I am only the Chief Field Specialist, and not the _Chief Instructor_ -" He paused to glare sidelong at Savage. "-I can only give my _recommendations_. The final decision is, of course, his." He ran his tongue along his upper lip, pausing to let it curl around the tip of an elongated canine. "I should think a _Senior Specialist_ , with the experience you _should_ possess, would have had little difficulty with this course. As they say on your world, a _stroll through the park_? Perhaps you're not as qualified for your role as you should be. I shall have to make a recommendation to the Big Three. And I will be sending a letter to Madam Boswell, as well." He glanced around the empty campsite, and then arched an expectant brow at the two men. "Though, do indulge me. How _did_ you manage to find yourselves in this predicament? Call it…" He waved a hand casually in the air, then levelled a very cold glare at the two men. "…morbid curiosity."

Shawn's lips were pressed into a thin line, and while his outward expression remained impassive, inside he was shitting his pants. He'd been warned prior to coming that failure was _not_ an option, and he'd grown too accustomed to his cushy job. The last thing he wanted was to be moved somewhere else where he'd be expected to do actual work. "I-"

"It was my fault," Gary blurted as he snapped to attention, speaking over top of Shawn. "I thought I knew it all, being the cocky new recruit. I acted on my own, instead of working as a team, and I got in over my head. I had the map and misread it, and got us lost. Captain Graeham realized what I had done, and was working on a solution, but before he could enact it, I fell into a crevice and lost our equipment, including the signal flares. We were attempting to get our bearings using traditional methods when we ran into a Volari, and it ate the rest of our gear, including our map."

"Volari?" Yark scoffed. "There are no Volari here."

"Sir, with respect, if you'll look at the beach, you'll see the tracks for yourself. If not for a bit of luck in finding this pond and Captain Graeham's quick thinking, you would not be talking to us today."

Yark's expression was dubious, and he gave the two man a wary look as he purposefully moved to the water's edge and crouched down to see for himself. Suddenly, he stood up and spun quickly on his heel to face his colleague. "It's true, Sergeant Major. There is a Volari." He placed his right fist over his chest in a salute. "With permission, I must take leave and return to my other duties. My guard and I will form a hunting party to track and kill it." When Savage nodded, he gave a slight bow. Straightening, he turned to Shawn. "Lack of discipline aside, you exercised good judgement, Captain." Bicoloured eyes shifted to Gary. "As for you, Squad Lieutenant, your actions could have cost you and your partner your lives. There will be consequences."

Gary nodded glumly, not meeting the Ri'pelian's condemnatory stare. "Story of my life," he muttered under his breath as Yark took off running down the path.

Savage put a beefy hand on Shawn's shoulder and nudged him towards the path, jerking his head in that direction for Gary to follow. "You did real good, Graeham," he praised. "Dealing with a Volari, and unarmed? That's good stuff right there. Real good." He looked at Gary then, the sympathetic half smile seeming very out of place. "Sorry, Kid. Some people've got it. Some don't. Least you'll be stronger for having done this, yeah?"

* * *

A couple of days later, Gary was back in his office and was half-heartedly gathering up his personal effects. When he'd gotten in that morning, Karen Boswell had been waiting for him in his office. After handing him a banker's box, she'd told him to start packing up his things, and that she'd be back later with some paperwork that he needed to sign. He hadn't asked why, or even questioned it; he'd been expecting some sort of fallout from the weekend. After all, Yark had been just _itching_ to fail someone, and Gary figured that Karen had finally received their progress reports, and Yark's scathing personal letter, that morning. It irked him when he thought about how, when all was said and done, he'd acted appropriately yet he was the only one being punished. But, Gary knew that the world wasn't exactly fair, and while he was a bit bitter about it now, he knew he'd get over that bit. What sucked, however, was that once he was best case, reassigned, worst case, fired, he wouldn't be able to hang out with Shawn anymore. He snorted in disgust as he chucked a 'tip and strip' pen into the box, hoping like hell he wouldn't be sent somewhere lame, like the archives. Just the thought of all those old documents and books made him want to yawn.

"You know you're a complete idiot, right?"

Gary glanced towards the door, and then offered Shawn a perfunctory shrug as he picked up the ashtray he'd made out of a vintage 90mm artillery shell.

"I never asked you to be the martyr." When Gary just shrugged again, Shawn added, "I don't need a nursemaid. I can take care of myself."

On hearing that, Gary did snicker. "Yeah, I can tell. Out there in the woods, you were _totally_ in control. Textbook perfection."

"Fuck off," Shawn murmured as he lit a cigarette.

Pausing in his task, Gary set the ashtray down on the corner of the desk and then pulled out his own carton to join Shawn. "Seriously, it's okay. I'm not pissed at you or anything, if that's what you think. 'Sides, I figure that with my hot bod and way with the ladies _and_ the gents, I can find another job in no time. Unlike you, with your charming asshole personality."

"Seriously, fuck off." The corners of Shawn's mouth curved up into an enigmatic smirk as he took a long drag off his cigarette.

Gary frowned slightly when he saw the devious expression. "What?" he demanded. "What the hell's that look for?" Before he could get an answer, Karen came into the room. She deliberately brushed by Shawn as she passed him, and when he sneered, she giggled a little at the reaction, then sobered as she handed Gary a file folder.

Gary dropped it on the desk and hunted around for a pen, eventually giving a mental shrug and retrieving the stripper pen from the box. Clicking the top, he removed his badge from his jacket and handed it to Karen.

A jet brow arched in confusion. "And you're giving this to me, why?" she asked.

"If I'm no longer working for Theta Six, then I don't need a badge, right?" Gary said.

"Do you not want to work for Theta Six?" she asked. "Are you offering me your resignation?"

"Offering-wait, what?" It was Gary's turn to look confused. "So, after the total shit show this weekend, I'm _not_ fired?"

"Fired?" Karen blinked in surprise, and then burst out laughing. "Oh Darling, you're not fired! You think I don't know what _really_ happened out there this weekend?" She patted his cheek. "Dear, sweet Yark is just a little _too_ uptight for his own good, and as for Sergeant Major Savage…" She chuckled. "Trust me, Handsome. Let's just say there's a reason I'm incredibly good at my job and leave it at that, hmm?" Still greatly amused, she said, "That folder has your new job assignment. You've been promoted to Lieutenant and made a full Specialist - no more probation. That means your own office, not a desk with the Juniors. Though, if you want to _stay_ employed, then you'd better finish up here and get back to work, yes? You're just what we want for this team, and I'm sure you'll keep this one in line. Especially since he's looking at much, _much_ more field time." She jerked her thumb in Shawn's direction and blew a kiss at him, grinning widely at the sour look she earned for the action. "Sign the papers and have them on my desk before lunch, because if I have to come looking for you…" She left the threat unfinished and winked at him. "Ta, Darlings. And Shawn? You'd better get _your_ ass in gear. Tick tock, Sweetie." With a small wave, she left the two men alone - Shawn scowling, and Gary gaping.

"What the hell just happened?" Gary asked, still looking out the empty doorway.

Shawn tapped the end of his smoke on the edge of the ashtray. "The course reports came in this morning. After she'd read them, I was summoned to her office to explain how I'd managed to score such a glowing report _and_ earn a commendation while yours was a total farce."

"Wait," Gary interrupted. "You got a fucking commendation? For _what_?" Gary demanded.

Shawn smirked. " _For bravery in dealing with a Volari threat, and for ensuring the continued safety and protection of the citizens and visitors to Rymia_. I'm betting the wording was Yark's. Sounds too intellectual for Savage."

"Fuck me running," Gary muttered in amused disbelief. "Only you, Shawn, could get a goddamned commendation for doing absolutely nothing."

"Yeah, irony's a bitch, isn't it?" Shawn replied with a shrug. "But anyway, I told her about our weekend - well, most of it - and how when Yark and Savage found us, you took the blame for the fuck up, and that Yark ripped you a new asshole over it. After she ripped _me_ a new one, she called up Yark. I swear to fuck, I don't know how she does it, but when he was speaking to her, he was sweet as pie. It was nauseating. He told her that yes, maybe he'd overreacted in light of the situation, and that in hindsight, we had worked well as a team, overcome considerable challenges, blah, blah, blah." Shawn rolled his eyes and made a 'talky' gesture with his hand. "He told her that his people had managed to track the Volari and deal with it, and that he'd be sending a revised course report for you by the end of the day. So that's the deal behind your promotion. Plus, I told her I wasn't about to work with some snot-nosed Junior. I wanted someone fully qualified or she could fuck right off."

Gary grinned. He was glad that Karen had called Shawn on his bullshit, and he felt some degree of satisfaction on learning that he'd gotten his ass chewed for it - even if he knew the lesson would never really sink in. And he was glad that Karen had called Yark and sorted out what had happened in the field. Hearing even second hand that he wasn't a total fuck up was a huge boost to the ego for Gary - he couldn't wait to tell Hank! But he was overjoyed to learn that he was going to get to work with Shawn on a regular basis, that Shawn had even pushed for his promotion and had made it known that he would accept Gary as his work partner. "Thanks, man. Seriously, that was cool of you."

"Tch. Your mangina is showing. Seriously, quit getting all weepy about it and grow a set; it's no big deal. I _guess_ you earned it." Shawn smirked as he stubbed out his cigarette. "You're going to have to get yourself up to speed on my caseload. And for a month, you're going to have to team up with Hank, though if you pick up any of his annoying OCD habits, I'm going to have to beat them out of you."

Gary gave Shawn a quizzical look. "Why do I have to work with Hank?"

Shawn rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Turns out, as part of my 'punishment' for throwing you under the bus - which, I'll remind you, I never asked your dumb ass to do - Auntie's sending me for a fucking month of more leadership training and team building. I guess she figures if she crams enough of that touchy-feely bullshit on me, she can turn me into a positive role model or something."

Gary looked disappointed on hearing that. "Oh. Off-world again?"

Shawn snorted irritably. "No. It's local. And cheap. She's not about to pony up a bunch of cash for me for a while." Shawn glanced up at Gary. "Though, I suppose if you wanted to, you could always catch a shuttle down on the weekend and visit? Maybe spring me out for good behaviour?"

Gary smiled at the offer. "Hn. Maybe. Where are you going?"

"Hawaii."

Gary's mouth dropped open. "Fuck me. Only you would think of someplace like Hawaii as 'local' and 'cheap'. What, is she only springing for a four-star, Your Highness?"

"Screw you, asshat. Do you want to visit me or not?"

"Yeah, jackass, I want to visit! Where will you be?" Gary asked.

Shawn's lips slowly curled up into a devious smirk. "Comeoniwannalayya." The smirk widened into a full-on toothy grin as Shawn left a very shocked Gary and headed back to his own office.


End file.
